At the new Wimberley location of Junk Gypsy, Kendra Scott, CEO of her Austin-based billion dollar jewelry brand, inaugurated a yellow-rosethemed boot last Friday in front of a large crowd of fans and well-wishers. After comments by Carl Rabenault and Nancy Elliot of WimberleyArts.org, the boot was unveiled.
The entrepreneurial superstar and philanthropist told listeners that she had a special affection for yellow roses, which, she added, were used in the suffrage movement to signal support for the Nineteenth Amendment. She applauded artist, Leah Lu- cus who is the senior vice president of design at Kendra Scott, for the design and realization of her namesake boot. She also declared her affection for the town of Wimberley where she now owns a second home. “The minute I drive down Ranch Road 12,” she said, I feel my blood pressure go down.”
Scott, who was born and raised in Wisconsin, landed in Austin as a student at the University of Texas. While waiting on the birth of her first child, she began designing jewelry in her spare room. After her son was born, she went from boutique to boutique in Austin to sell her work with her baby strapped to her front. Her $500 investment became a billion dollar enterprise.
She has been interviewed by Gayle King on CBS This Morning, was featured on the Today Show and was a Guest Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank. Articles about her jewelry and business acumen have appeared in such magazines as Elle, Marie Claire, The Oprah Magazine, InStyle, Vogue, Entrepreneur, Forbes and The New York Times, as well as many Texas-based publications and television news programs. At last count, Kendra Scott has been in the news at least 85 times.
Built into her business model was the idea of giving back. Her company has donated over $50 million dollars to local, national and international causes supporting women and youth in education, health and wellness, entrepreneurship and empowerment.
The unveiling also drew attention to her Kendra Scott popup store called “Yellow Rose” located next to the new Junk Gypsy boutique. The popup shop will sell her signature jewelry for one more week in Wimberley, from Wednesday to Sunday, before it moves on.
After the unveiling of the boot sculpture, the owners of Junk Gypsy, Amie, Jolie and Janie Sikes, held a ribbon cutting to commemorate their new Wimberley location. Sisters Amie and Jolie took turns at the microphone to talk about their Roundtop- based clothing and decor company and to express their excitement for their new 1700 square foot store where a vintage pink Volkswagen Beetle sits outside.
In an email from Jolie and Amie, they explained the genesis of the Wimberley store. “We’ve been dreaming of a store in Wimberley for almost 20 years, and we are over the moon that we finally got the perfect opportunity. When Molly Bowen, of Wimberley Way & the Creekhouse approached us, we immediately knew it was the right thing! We then put in a call to our friends at Kendra Scott about bringing their Yellow Rose Tiny Home and when they said yes, we knew this was the perfect trifecta. Supporting women-owned businesses is a part of our mission at JG, and to get the chance to work with Molly and Kendra was the icing on the cake.”
They went on to write, “ Wimberley has been very special to us, from our weekend trips there for almost 20 years, to our team rallying around the Wimberley Flood efforts in 2015 (where we were able to donate $50,000 to the town) to the magic we’ve felt every time we’ve jumped into Blue Hole. This town is more than just another place to put a store for us, it’s part of the very fiber of who we are.”
The Sikes sisters have been featured in multiple television episodes of HGTV and QVC, and as many magazine articles for their eclectic, Texas-flavored Bohemian Farmhouse style. Self-made entrepreneurs originally from tiny Overton, Texas, they now ride herd over thriving retail and wholesale businesses and their hospitality venue, The Wander Inn, located on the 60acre Junk Gypsy property behind their flagship store in Roundtop. Read more about them in this week’s Riffs, Roams and Raves. The Wimberley Junk Gypsy is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday through Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
